While the lyrics are very similar between the two, many people who speak both English and German assert that the imagery in the German form is much richer and the lyrics match the music much more closely. The German version has a very clear "Neunundneunzig (three syllables)" at the start of each verse:

Neunundneunzig luftballons

Neunundneunzig Dusenflieger

Neunundneunzig Kriegsminister

Neunundneunzig Jahre Krieg

This is compared to the 3-4 pattern in English (sometimes necessitating a pause to get the correct meter)

ninety-nine (pause) red balloons

ninety-nine (pause) decision street

ninety-nine knights of the air

ninety-nine dreams I have had

You and I in a little toy shop
buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message, "Something's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by.

99 red balloons
floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
Where 99 red balloons go by.

Realizing that I am working off of a bablefish translation and other
translations (and thus far from perfect and likely missing much of the undertones and color of the original German) I will try to point out a few of the places where the imagery is different.

The first, and most obvious is the first verse. In the German, the singer is telling the listener that if you have some time, he will sing you a song - of 99 balloons that are sailing on their way to the horizon. There is no mention of going into a shop and buying a bag of balloons - though the idea of "set them free at the break of dawn, 'till one by one, they are gone" is still there.

From this point on, the both instances of the song tell of the government getting alarmed (English: "panic bells, it's red alert"). In both cases they were perceived as a UFO. The story diverges a bit with the general being sent for in verse 2 German while the English version does not mention a general. The German version makes no mention of any "software bugs" that show up in the English (verse 1).

The German lyrics continue with the military jet planes and makes tribute to Captain Kirk (verse 3 German, verse 4 English). The German instances tells fireworks and a shot on the horizon while the English verse three deals with the 99 decision street (a suggestion of 10 Downing Street or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) where 99 ministers meet (the German version has the ministers in verse 4). The descriptions of the ministers differs - the English version using "worry worry" while the German version has "Hielten sich fuer schlaue Leute" meaning about "regarded themselves as smart people".

In verse four English, we are told of the jets (mentioned in verse 3 German) where everyone is a super hero and Captain Kirk - acting out their boyhood fantasies. Personally, I do regard the "Knights of the air" as being more artistic.

The last verse has the most striking difference between the two songs:

ninety-nine years of war
doesn't leave a place for victors
there are no ministers any more
no jet engines, either
today I'm doing my rounds
seeing the world lying in ruins
found a balloon
think of you and let it fly
(translation from http://inthe80s.com/)

Since its original, this song has been covered many times by numerous bands. To computer gamers, the most recognizable version of this cover is that by Goldfinger found in Gran Turismo 3 or Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. It has also been
covered by: